The New York Times Recommends Traveling to Cuba without Mentioning the Dictatorship
MEXICO CITY, Mexico. – As had occurred in 2016, the well-known American newspaper The New York Times (TNYT) included Cuba among the 52 destinations the daily recommends people should visit in 2023.
The recommendation comes at a time of severe crisis for the Cuban economy which has not managed to achieve tourism’s recovery after the pandemic.
Cuba is ranked in 27th place in the above-mentioned list which suggests other destinations as well, such as Canada, Italy, Spain. TNYT highlights regarding the Caribbean country the “culture, gastronomy, and natural wonders” of the island. It also highlights that another reason for getting to know Cuba is the character and friendliness of Cubans, and the good music. The combination of these two characteristics makes for “an ever-present happy soundtrack that vibrates in every city and town.”
The U.S. newspaper also tells of the “tempting” proximity of Cuba to the United States as another motive to travel to the island.
The text published last Friday describes Cuba as a paradise filled with beautiful white-sandy beaches, tobacco-rich valleys and happy dwellers. However, it fails to mention the food and medicines shortages, the deficient health system infrastructure, the blackouts, the political repression, or that the island has been ruled by a dictatorship for 64 years.
The New York Times limits its coverage to repeating the same stereotypical discourse that Cuban tourism agencies promote, without telling what life is really like in the country.
As would be expected, the propaganda outlets of the dictatorship have echoed the article and are using it to promote themselves.
In addition to Cubadebate and the official press agency Prensa Latina, the Twitter profiles of the Ministry of the Interior, the De Zurda Team, and the various Cuban embassies abroad replicated the promotional piece immediately.
It is not the first time that TNYT recommends traveling to Cuba. In 2016, amidst the thaw between the two countries, Valle de Viñales (Viñales Valley) in Pinar del Río province, ranked 10th among 52 travelers’ destinations.
The present publication doesn’t seem coincidental just now when. Bilateral relations have taken a new turn, more similar to the one initiated by Barack Obama than the policies enacted by Donald Trump.
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